The Empire Strikes
by Noggins
Summary: Alternate ending - Luke and Vader's violent clash has a distressing outcome for Luke as the Dark Lord tells his the truth about his father.


Title: Empire Strikes Back Alternate Ending  
  
Author: Jonathan Evans  
  
Author email: noggins@connectfree.co.uk  
  
Category: Alternate Universe  
  
Summary: Luke and Vader's violent clash has a distressing  
outcome for Luke as the Dark Lord tells his the truth about  
his father.  
  
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything and I'm not making any  
money off of thi nor do I intend to (I'd like to but that's not the   
point). You can distribute this freely provided that it's  
complete with this disclaimer.  
  
THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK  
(ALTERNATE ENDING)  
By Jonathan Evans  
  
Luke moved along the railing and up towards the control room. Vader  
lunged against him but Luke blocked it with his lightsaber. Sparks  
flew all around them as Vader forced Luke backwards toward the gantry.  
The Dark Lord spoke with his mechanical voice.  
"You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be  
destroyed as Obi-Wan did."  
  
Luke answered by rolling sideways and thrusting his sword at Vader so  
viciously that he struck the Sith on the shoulder. The black armour  
sparked and smoked and despite seeming injured, Vader recovered from  
this assult.  
  
By this time Luke had backed along the narrow edge of the gantry as  
Vader came closer to him, slashing at the young Jedi with his sword.  
Luke quickly span around the instrument complex attached to the gantry  
but soon a slash of Vader's saber caused it to come in two and fall.  
  
Luke felt a sudden pain as the saber that had just so easily cut  
through durasteel now rendered him without his hand. He pushed  
his stump under his left armpit and moved along the gantry to the  
extreme end. Vader moved closer until Luke could no longer excape  
any further.  
  
"There is no escape," the Sith stated. "Don't make me destroy you  
Luke. You do not yet realise your importance. Join me and I will  
complete your training. Wth our combined strength, we can end this  
destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."  
  
Luke screamed back at him. "I will never join you!"  
Vader stood emtionless, lightsaber still in hand.  
"If only you knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never  
told you what happened to your father."  
Luke tried to block the words from his head but could not. He  
felt great anger aimed at the Dark Lord.  
"He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"  
  
Vader turned his lightsaber off. He would have smiled if not  
for the mask covering his mouth tightly.  
"But he did not tell you *how* I killed him. Surprising since  
he was there watching at all happen."  
  
Luke felt the tears in his eyes. This was too much. He would   
have rathered it if Vader had revealed that he was his father.   
But things were not that simple.  
  
Vader continued. "I duelled with Kenobi on Aeten II as Skywalker  
came down on his pathetic ship. I almost had my old master into   
the molten material. It would have destroyed him. He was so   
weak. But your pathetic father stopped me. Our lightsabers   
clashed with great ferocity. I almost admired his anger."  
  
Luke noticed the pain in his hand disappearing as his own anger   
increased with Vader's tale. He looked down the massive, almost   
bottomless pit and wished he could end it all by dropping down   
it. The sound of the Dark Lord's voice brought him back to his   
senses.  
  
"The admiration soon disappeared as he began to calm. He used the   
Force to propell me closer to the edge which I had almost pushed  
Kenobi down. The dark side, however, is so much stronger. I  
lifted him in the air and soon he was dangling on the cliff face  
calling to Obi-Wan for help."  
  
Surely Ben would have helped him! Luke's grip weakened on the   
gantry as if to test himself. Would he intentionaly drop to  
his ineviatable death?  
  
"But Kenobi was afraid. I sensed the fear on him. He could not  
help your father. He was frozen. It was his weakness. He had not  
been trained well enough. He could never teach anyone like the  
Emperor... my Emperor," Vader stopped and ignited his saber as  
if for effect. "He watched as I crushed your father's throat. He  
tried to stop but soon his hands were weakening. My weapon quickly  
cut through one hand..." he swished the weapon in his hand. "Then   
the other. I saw him fall into the pit and as his skin melted away  
his skull screamed in pain before it too disappeared into nothing."  
  
Luke's eyes opened wide. "No. No. That's not true! That's impossible."  
Vader held his arm out. "Search your feelings. You know it to be  
true."  
Luke lurched out at Vader. Without his weapon he was sure the Force  
would guide him to victory. As the Sith Lord's lightsaber skewered  
him he was still sure that this wasn't true. The lights went out  
and Vader looked down on the pathetic body of the boy.  
  
"One Skywalker, or two, I will destroy your lineage."  
  
***  
  
Many parsecs away on Dagobah a concerned Obi-Wan Kenobi turned  
to Yoda.  
"He is lost to us," he frowned.  
"But there is another..." Yoda said without confidence.  
  
THE END 


End file.
